It is presently the case that the equipment available to emergency response teams, such as ambulance attendants, is not adequate to deal with certain types of emergency situations that arise on a frequent basis. In particular, in those situations where it is necessary to move bedridden or otherwise incapacitated persons up or down stairs, there is currently no adequate equipment available. Such a need arises at hospitals, hotels, apartment buildings and single-family dwellings.
The current solution to this problem is to use ordinary kitchen or dining room chairs or armchairs or the like or in some cases to use spine boards.
This is clearly an unacceptable situation. A wide variety of problems can arise in attempting to make use of available material. For example, an acceptable chair type may not be available. Again, it is very difficult to restrain in such a chair a person who is unconscious or semiconscious. Delays occasioned by strapping patients into chairs and the like is very time consuming in situations where time may be critical.
Further problems arise from the awkward sizes and shapes of available chairs and, as well, of spine boards, particularly in terms of manoeuvrability around corners, doorways and like.
Finally, a safety problem arises with the use of available chairs because emergency response teams can never be confident of the strength of chairs found at the scene.
It is therefore evident that a serious need exists for a satisfactory means of transporting patients up or down stairs to the waiting ambulance.
The present invention is directed toward a rescue seat designed to alleviate the problems discussed above.